Li Siye put his hands on his knees and said solemnly: "It was before, now it is now, now allies are precious, and obedient allies are even more precious." The key is that you don't know if they are obedient on the surface or really obedient, and you need to get a preventive shot in advance, which is called being prepared. ”

"And then?"

Li Siye shook the wooden bowls on the desk, swept them over their faces one by one, and said firmly: "Then we sent people around to release the news, saying that Gao Xianzhi's attack on the capital of Shi Guo has been revealed, the emperor has removed him from his official position, and the new Jiedu envoy is unwilling to start another war, and we can't shrink back." ”

"Isn't this tantamount to showing weakness in advance?"

"Fake news! I said that this was fake news, and on the surface we did not move, and then led the army to the capital of Ningyuan State, Xiuxun Prefecture, and thirsty city. If the Black Eaters are ambitious, they are bound to attack Thirsty City and take all the territory west of the Green Ridge. They must have that ambition, and we will put the battlefield in Thirsty City instead of Talas, and turn the away stadium into the home stadium. ”

Tian Zhen patted his thigh and said: "In my opinion, we don't have to care about the home and away games, even if we raise troops to Talas, we can still defeat them!" ”

"Very well, I am convinced." Li Siye met his gaze and said: "What is the essence of war, save yourself, and then destroy the enemy." We don't just want to win, we want to achieve the greatest success at the lowest cost. For us, the real victory is not a pyrrhic victory, but a big victory. ”

Cen Shen finally interjected a sentence: "The doctor cares about the lives of the soldiers, and my soldiers of the Anxi Army are blessed." It's a pity that Cen Shen can't go into battle, otherwise I will have to fight bravely for the doctor. ”

Li Siye laughed generously, and said to Cen Shen: "Even if you can't go into battle, but it is also useful, the pen in your hand is a weapon, I want you to write a letter to the enemy general in Arabic, no, use the Great Food script, just say that we have no intention of offending the army of the Abbasids, and I hope that the two sides can coexist peacefully. ”

Tian Zhen immediately protested loudly: "Isn't this just groveling, you beg for mercy like this, the big cannibal is not yet in the sky!" ”

"Wrong, this is called showing the enemy weakness and paralyzing them, we have to make great preparations, fighting a war is equivalent to hunting, as long as you can hit the prey, you are a good hunter, no matter what method is used. Go down and prepare, each of you, and disperse. ”

Everyone said goodbye to Li Siye, and returned to the room with lanterns.

Six days later, Li Siye led half of the Anxi army to set out, aiming for the capital of Ningyuan Kingdom. On the one hand, he ordered Duan Xiushi to lead the other half and transport grain and grass to the city of Thirsty City with the people.

But when it comes to the transportation of grain and grass, the money and grain consumed are very huge, and fortunately, he now has the financial resources of post road logistics, and Feng Changqing is in the rear to dispatch. If you win in such a steady and steady way, you can take the opportunity to expand the fruits of victory, and if you lose, you can also retreat.

When the Tang army arrived outside the city, Li Siye decisively chose not to enter the city, but chose to camp on the high ground surrounded by half of the river in the east of the city.

He sent people to invite the king of Ningyuan and the Khan of Qarluq, and sent people to the city to buy fine wine, and sent a few tooth soldiers to hunt some game, and everything was ready, and he waited for the guests to come to the door.

In recent years, the Qarluq have flourished in the northern and southern Tianshan Mountains and the west of the Altai Mountains, and one of them has gradually grown in the grasslands of the Broken Leaf River, almost replacing the former hegemony of the Turgish, who are nomadic in the vast pastures of the Tianshan Mountains, piggybacking on mercenaries to do odd jobs for the Anxi Protectorate.

Since he is a mercenary, he may only have business in his eyes and no morality. The Anxi Protectorate drove them to fight, of course, they could not rely only on prestige and empty rewards, and the necessary material distribution still had to be available.

There are two main ways for Ge Lulu to participate in the war to make profits, one is to capture and divide after the war, they assisted the Tang army to win victory on the battlefield, and the cattle, sheep, livestock and various means of subsistence obtained were divided among them by the Anxi army, which was a legal robbery to put it bluntly. But in the event of a fierce enemy, or a battle rarely captured, the first method will not work. At this time, it is necessary to exchange the reward for beheading, what is the price of ordinary soldiers, what is the price of officers of the rank of captain, and even the price of enemy generals.

Compared with Ge Lulu, Ning Yuanguo is a pure die-hard fan and ally, and it is politically correct to keep up with the pace of the Anxi Protectorate at all times.

For these two types of allies, Li Siye has to treat them differently in different ways. The banquet of King Ningyuan was to deepen friendship, and the hospitality of Qarluq Khan was an opportunity to strike a warning.

……

The green fields are vast, the clouds are pressed low by the blue sky, the felt tents of the Qarluq tribes are dotted on the meadows, and the herders ride horses to drive the sheep like clouds running on the grass.

The tent of the Galludun Viga Khan lifted the curtain, and several guests dressed in black with white scarves on their heads, their faces wearing black veils, revealing only deep-set eye sockets and brown pupils. The Khan of Don Viga followed them, his face smiling and his eyes shining with lust for money.

The guests rode black horses with gold bridles on their heads. The horses' hooves jumped and ran into the distance, their robes rising and falling with a regular rhythm.

Don Biga looked at their distant figures, and the corners of his mouth shook: "These people are really rich, much more generous than the lord of our east." ”

The guards guarding Ye Hu's left and right rushed over and called out to Dun Bijia in a loud voice, while stretching out his hand to the south: "Ye Hu, the Anxi army is here." ”

"So fast!" Taken aback, he gladly wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead, if the black-clothed guys had left a little later, the two groups would have collided.

He immediately instructed his subordinates: "Hurry up and hot mare's milk wine, kill a few sheep and prepare to entertain the guests." ”

The Anxi army squad appeared in the round tent of the camp, led by Tian Zhen riding a jujube red Turkic horse, with a leopard tail tooth flag representing the Anxi Jiedu envoy behind him, wearing a golden bright light armor, and several horsemen behind him were wearing silver armor and pointed helmets, and the armor was as silver as a mirror, almost brightening the eyes of the blind herdsmen.

Don Bijia praised: "It's still the Tang army that has a lot of money, but it's a pity that it's too picky." ”

He led the two Tutun officials towards the comer, and at the same time bent down and saluted with his hands on his chest: "Xige Lulu Ye Hutun Viga, welcome the distinguished guests from afar, welcome the generals of the Tang Dynasty, you have come from afar, but what does Ambassador Gao command?" ”

Tian Zhen turned over and dismounted, and spoke according to etiquette: "There is no high ambassador now, and it is Li Siye, the envoy of the Beiting Anxi Festival, who is in charge of the west of the city. Dr. Li took office as a new official and wanted to invite Ye Hu to the festival to make a banquet and drink. ”

Don Bijia hurriedly shook his head and shirked: "Now that the summer transition has arrived, I, as Ye Hu, can't leave the camp and travel a long way to Qiuzi." ”

"I don't need you to run so far, and I don't need you to go to Shule, our family Doctor Li has already set up camp outside the capital of Ningyuan Kingdom, just waiting for Ye Hu to go to the banquet." Tian Zhen said coldly

"Okay, you go back and report to Dr. Li, and you will be there in a few days."

"This is really not good, my doctor is in a hurry, I'm afraid I can't wait for a moment, and I ask Ye Hu to gather his entourage to follow me on the road immediately, leave this afternoon, and tomorrow night it should be at the dinner that the doctor has prepared for you."

Don Bijia felt a little bad, but he didn't dare to refuse the Anxi army for the time being, so he had to bite the bullet and said: "Wait for the general, I'll go and gather my followers and go with you later." ”